An unexpected christmas
by Mesalline
Summary: When Jack returns to the hub after spending a year on the Valiant, he gets a little mixed up with the festivities in his hope to redeem himself, but the memories of the year that never was are still fresh in his mind. One shot.


**_Authors Notes: Only I can mix Christmas with angst, lol! I've been feeling annoyingly christmassy of late. God help the customers in our shop when they start playing the carols! Anyways, enjoy. _**

Jack sat back in his office and nervously glanced around the hub. Sure, he'd done a good job. But whether it would redeem him, he wasn't sure.

He'd left them for a whole year. And the only way he could think of making it up to them was so childish and embarrassing that just _looking _at the state of the hub made a hot flush creep up his neck.

To be fair, it wasn't all Jacks fault. The Master had left him nothing but his raw emotions- It was like being a child again. Tiny things made him cry. He remembered with shame how he'd sobbed for ten minutes because he'd dropped the holly. And his frustration when the string of tinsel over Toshiko's desk drooped over her computer screen.

Jack had always hated Christmas, and now he hated it even more. He'd been shocked to find it was Christmas Eve the day everything changed. The day the Doctor made everything better.

Jack snorted.

Sure, he'd made it better- for everyone else on the damn planet. They had the bliss of forgetting. But for Jack, he could still remember.

He still remembered each long, drawn out painful death. Each night wishing it would end. And it did end, eventually. Jack figured he could be excused for forgetting about Christmas after being tortured on the Valiant for a year. The Master hadn't been kind enough to give him a calendar in his cell, after all.

He dropped his mug as the hub doors rolled open. Involuntary shudders ran through his body as their footsteps and loud voices echoed around the hub.

He wasn't ready for this, he thought numbly as he lowered his head into his hands. He just wasn't _ready._

Jack didn't notice the sudden silence and Owens rude remarks about Santa's reindeers being a bit bloody early. He didn't notice Gwen's excited scream as she spotted him, hunched in his office, or the look of anger on Ianto's face.

He flinched as the door crashed open.

"Jack!"

Gwen launched at him, pulling him forwards into a bear hug. The shudders ran through his body again at the human contact. Gwen froze and pulled back; looking at him as she had the first day she'd met him.

"Did you do this, Jack?" she asked quietly.

His heart started to hammer against his chest at the accusation, his mind racing, trying to find an excuse- a way out.

"Erm…"

Gwen smiled warmly. "It doesn't matter, it's lovely."

Jack grinned back sheepishly, clutching the arms of his chair, ready for the blow that would surely be coming his way. He blinked in surprise as Gwen continued to smile warmly, albeit the small frown creasing her features.

"Jack, are you okay? Where've you been?"

Jack hastily stood up, sending the chair careering backwards into the wall.

"I'll tell you. I will, soon. Honest, just…Not now. Please?" he stuttered, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

Ianto shot a questioning glance at Owen, who merely shrugged and rolled his eyes.

"You do realise that Christmas isn't for another three months? Why the bloody hell did you put up the decorations in October? And why the bloody hell did you send us to the Himalayas!?" Owen fumed, steadily turning a dark shade of red.

"I didn't send you to the Himalayas, Saxon did."

"Saxon?" exclaimed Ianto.

"_Harold Saxon? The priminister of great Britain, sent us on a wild goose chase to the Himalayas?" _

"Yeah, long story…I've been gone a year." He muttered, lowering his gaze.

"And I couldn't exactly keep up with time where I was…" Jack snorted.

He had been in the company of two time lords for a year, and he'd lost track of time.

Toshiko grinned. "Like Gwen said, for the time being it doesn't matter. You're back now, Jack. The decorations are lovely."

"Hang on a minute. I want to know where you've been!" Owen huffed and folded his arms indignantly.

"Okay, okay…who want's Chinese?"

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Half an hour later, they were all sat in the tinsel filled board room, munching on spring rolls and duck pancakes.

The Christmas crackers on the table, in Owens opinion, looked ridiculous, especially in the middle of October. He listened incredulously as Jack talked about rouge time lords, the year that never was, the Valiant, Martha Jones (who in his opinion sounded like little girl wonder, he thought with a snort.)

"But Jack," Owen interrupted. "You've only been gone a few months, not a year."

Jacks features darkened. "I was coming to that." He said quietly.

And so, he talked. It took Jack a further hour to finish the story, even when he was careful to skip the details about hanging in chains, the torture. He shuddered just thinking about it.

"Okay," said Ianto, breaking the silence.

"You've told us your story, we'll tell you ours."

Jack listened in turn, astonished as they each told their tales about the Himalayas.

Jack was merely glad of a break; his voice had grown hoarse from all the talking. _Which made a nice change, _he thought dryly.

Another hour had passed before everyone had finished talking, and silence fell amongst them. They sat together in the boardroom, eating Chinese. For the first time in a year, they were content, and glad of each others company.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

"C'mon Owen!"

Gwen pulled him up off the couch and dragged him around the hub, dancing in time to Slade.

"Naaa, I'm really not in the mood, Love. Another time, another place," he mocked a bow at her feet and sauntered off, embarrassed to the med bay.

"Jack?"

Jack looked up from the depths of his Coffee, startled. He tensed as Ianto held out his hand.

As though he was in a dream, Jack took it and slowly heaved himself out of his chair. Every bone in his body screamed out in protest, but suddenly he didn't care.

Gwen and Toshiko watched, smirking as Jack and Ianto waltzed around the hub, unaware of their surroundings.

"About bloody time," whispered Toshiko.

"Uh huh."

Jack rested his head on Ianto's shoulder and felt his eye lids drift closed. It didn't matter that he was in the hub, with Gwen, Toshiko and Owen watching. Jack smiled as the final notes of Moonlight Serenade faded away. He'd finally got the dance he'd never had.

**_Fin._**


End file.
